Your favorite bakery-style muffin, upgraded with tangy sourdough starter (discard or active), fresh blueberries, and bright lemon zest with vanilla. Moist and fluffy inside, with a perfectly crunchy top. Let the batter rest overnight and bake fresh in the morning. Yes, really!
Blueberry muffins are classic. Everyone loves them. After years of perfecting recipes- from blueberry cornmeal muffins and buttermilk blueberry crumb muffins– I finally nailed my favorite sourdough discard version.
These muffins are soft yet sturdy, perfectly moist, with bursts of juicy blueberries in every bite. The outside has a lightly crisp crunch, while subtle hints of lemon zest and vanilla add a fresh brightness that will make your heart sing!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Convenient Prep: Mix the batter, portion into a muffin tin, and chill overnight. In the morning, bake fresh muffins straight from the fridge for an easy, zero-effort homemade breakfast in under 30 minutes.
- Flavor: The slow overnight fermentation deepens flavor and enhances digestibility thanks to the added sourdough
- Texture: Balanced softness with a satisfying tender crumb
Tips for Success:
- All sourdough starters are different. The consistency of yours (thick vs. thin) will determine the texture of the muffin batter. Aim for a semi-thick batter similar to plain yogurt. This texture will suspend the berries evenly throughout the muffins, and fortify the overall structure once baked. If your batter is too thin, add more flour. Too thick, add more milk.
- Fresh is best. Compared to frozen blueberries, fresh blueberries they hold their shape better and they are not as wet and mushy after a lengthy, overnight fermentation.
- Zest or citrus oil? I’ve been playing around with citrus oils in my baking, specifically lemon and orange, and I’m in love. First, they’re super convenient to have on hand especially when you don’t have any lemons or oranges to zest. Second, a little bit goes a long way. They are very concentrated. I use Doterra citrus oils. King Arthur Baking also sells them.
How To Make Sourdough Blueberry Muffins {Step-By-Step Recipe}
- To start, combine the dry ingredients together. Mix sourdough starter and milk in a separate small bowl; set aside. Then cream the butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest together, adding the eggs one at a time- I like using a stand mixer for this. Alternatively, you can mix by hand. Just make sure the butter is truly at room temperature (soft) so that it’s easy to do!
- Now, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk. Add the fresh blueberries.
- Portion the batter into a muffin tin lined with paper cups. Choose to bake right away or ferment overnight. To bake: 375°F (190°C) for about 25-28 minutes, then cool before serving and dusting with powdered sugar. The are so light and delicate!
Note: for the purpose of this blog post, I transferred the muffin batter into a large blue bowl pictured above so you could see the texture better. You do not need to do this if using a stand mixer.
By signing up, you agree to receive emails from The Clever Carrot. Unsubscribe at any time.
Moist Sourdough Blueberry Muffins (Overnight Option)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Sourdough Discard Recipes
- Method: Oven-Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Your favorite bakery-style muffin, upgraded with tangy sourdough starter (discard or active), fresh blueberries, and bright lemon zest with vanilla. Moist and fluffy inside, with a perfectly crunchy top. Let the batter rest overnight and bake fresh in the morning. Yes, really!
Ingredients
- 200 g all purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 60 g sourdough starter (active sourdough starter or sourdough discard)
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 115 g (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature (soft)
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 large eggs
- 165 g (1 heaping cup) fresh blueberries, plus more for decoration
- Powdered sugar, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 F/ 190 C. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl; set aside.
- Whisk the sourdough starter and milk together in a separate small bowl; set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or by hand with a wooden spoon): cream the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and zest together. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Working in batches, add 1/2 of the flour mixture. Once absorbed, add half of the milk mixture. Repeat until everything is used up and the batter is smooth and well incorporated.
- Gently fold the blueberries into the bowl with a rubber spatula. Make sure to evenly distribute the berries throughout the batter (check the bottom of the bowl!).
- Fill the muffin pan, about 3/4 of the way full. Top with a few berries if you like, making sure to tuck them in so they don’t pop out during baking.
- At this point, you can bake right away or chill overnight, for 12+ hours.
- To bake now: place the tin on the center rack and bake for 25-28 minutes.
- To bake later: remove the tin from the refrigerator; discard the foil. Bake straight from cold for 25-28 minutes.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling so the bottoms don’t get soggy.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with powdered sugar.
Comments
Liv says
These are SO good. The texture is unlike any other muffin I’ve had. I did the overnight proof in the fridge and I did feel like having it go cold into the oven (at least mine) added about 10 extra minutes to the bake time. I moved the rack up towards the top to really brown the tops of the muffins at the end. The only thing I changed about the recipe is adding the juice from 1 lemon, because my family enjoys a lemon flavor. That, with the zest, made it very fresh but not overly tart. The blueberries were a perfect pairing. These might be the best muffins I’ve ever baked!
Elizabeth says
We loved these muffins! We added 1/2 teaspoon almond extract for fun and subbed coconut oil for butter for a milk allergy. Turned out incredible! Loved the fluffy texture and crisp tops. We will be making these regularly.
Adriane says
These muffins are delicious! Thanks so much.
Nancy says
I made these in a square pan as a blueberry coffee cake. Absolutely delicious! Made extra starter so I could make them again.
Chastity says
These were amazing! The only thing I did differently was vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract. I am out of vanilla extract. I was wanting to make muffins with the blueberries I picked from my garden. I’m so thankful I chose this recipe to use up some of my sourdough discard in the process! I’m making the sourdough sandwich bread recipe weekly. I will be trying more of your recipes and telling everyone about them! Thanks so much for sharing.
Patricia says
Can SD Discard be used even though it’s many months dormant in frig?
Jason says
SO TASTY!!
I used 2c. frozen cranberries instead of blueberries.
The tops are slightly crisp with the perfect chewy sourdough texture everyone knows and loves. The inside is extremely moist and fluffy – like a cupcake but not overly sweet. LOVED IT!
Sherry Mohr says
Best Blueberry Muffins Ever!
I let them sit overnight – they were perfect!
Joan says
This recipe is absolutely the best! I substituted coconut milk for the whole milk without any problems. I just started using sourdough and am so happy to have found your website. You give so many helpful hints!
Vivien says
Easy read and easy do I love the starter and muffin recipe thank you
norman johnston says
how do I make sourdough starter
Camille Sabey says
How can this be changed to lemon poppyseed instead
Neida says
How much citrus oil do you use? I love Doterra products-
Emilie Raffa says
Hi Neida! My intent is always to use two drops, but three usually come out of the bottle!
Vicky Hansel says
Can I bake this as a loaf in a loaf pan? If so for how long and at what temperature. Thanks Vicky
Denise O'Connell says
These were the best Blueberry muffins I have ever baked. My family loved them!!!